Yon had 28 points the last time the teams met and hit two 3-pointers in the first three minutes of Wednesday's Class 5A third-round game.

So Amaro, at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, entered the game to guard Yon on the perimeter. Yon was held to one 3-pointer the rest of the way.

Matt Gramling led the Brahmas with 15 points and gave a superb defensive performance against Reagan leading scorer Tre Demps, holding him to nine.

MacArthur (27-8) moves on to the regional semifinals to face Harlingen at 6 p.m. Friday at UTSA Convocation Center.

“That's our type of game,” Murphy said. “We had to be physical, get in their faces and frustrate them a little. We did it. This is the biggest win of my coaching career.”

Reagan, the top seed in District 26-5A, swept MacArthur in the regular season, winning 61-57 on Jan. 10 and 69-63 on Feb. 5. The Rattlers had the momentum again in the fourth quarter, when Yon hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 45 with four minutes left.

MacArthur followed with a 6-0 run over the next minute, with a Ben Lytle steal and a Gramling lay-up to finish the rally.

Reagan (30-6) also struggled at the free-throw line at the end, making 4 of 11 in the fourth quarter. Yon finished with 14 points to lead the Rattlers, and Matt Medell added 12.

Amaro finished with six points and 11 rebounds. Point guard Michael Flores, who missed the second meeting because he was ineligible, added 14 points. The Brahmas are 25-4 with Flores and were 2-4 when he was out of action.

“We'd lost down the stretch to Reagan before and weren't going to let it happen a third time,” Gramling said. “We knew we were as good as Reagan but didn't know if our chance to show it would come. I'm glad we got to prove it.”